Ancestor's Day

An ancient holiday observed by virtually all Wergolis cultures, Ancestors’ Day is a celebration of the ancestors of the participants, and is often seen as an opportunity to commune with their spirits. Due to the age of the holiday, its observance varies widely depending on region.

Ydratye Fantasmir
Extremely popular among the Dwervoth, Ydratye Fantasmir (Throne of Ghosts) is celebrated, as many Dwervoth holidays, with massive feasts, often accompanied by performances of various entertainers. In Ydratye Fantasmir, the local Tyafylakus’ (Dwervoth religious leaders who primarily care for familial grave structures), accompanied by volunteers, often children, construct an ornamental throne from specially-made bricks and ornamentation. The throne is then lined with votive candles and censers are placed around the room, usually filled with a variety of dried Wurtellig along with other incenses. Traditionally, all present at the feast would take part in a toast to the deceased, generally of Fantasmikras, a variety of Dwervoth wine specially brewed for funerary observances.

Gevortsfester
Traditionally celebrated by the westerly Elfish tribes, Gevortsfester (lit. great-grandfathers’ feast) begins with a ritualistic hunt in which every able-bodied person, equipped with traditional Elfish bow and spear and an ornate outfit of hunting garb, ventures into the forest in search of the largest game they can locate. The hunters return at sundown with their catch, which is seasoned with special salts prepared by the wise man or shaman. In most villages, several of the largest pieces of  game are staked atop a bonfire and burned as tribute to the ancestors, providing them with the feast for which the holiday is named. The remaining game is prepared and eaten by the citizens of the village in a festival of feast and merriment which continues until sunrise. In more isolated farmsteads or easterly villages, each family constructs their own bonfire, and no communal feast is laid out.